Seattle Seahawks sign free agent cornerback Byron Maxwell

Free agent cornerback Byron Maxwell is no longer available as the top cornerback on the open market now that he’s signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

If the Kansas City Chiefs were ever thinking about kicking the tires on the best free agent cornerback available on the open market, they are now out of luck given that Byron Maxwell has officially signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s not a given that Maxwell was the single best available option, depending on whose opinion you read, but he was definitely among the most experienced and talented and for a team that could use some help in the secondary, Maxwell no longer being available is frustrating to watch as fans. The Chiefs have employed a less than inspiring rotation across from Marcus Peters all season and failed to get the sort of results they enjoyed last year down the stretch when Terrance Mitchell played like a man possessed—or at least one who wanted some more job security.

Mitchell hasn’t been able to match last year’s performance to end the regular season, and Steven Nelson has largely been injured and/or playing inside. Phillip Gaines has been inconsistent in a contract year, and Kenneth Acker is a nice versatile back-up who gets beat too often as a starter.

Despite the issues, the Chiefs failed to make any moves during the bye week, a key time to have brought in a new starter and try to work with him to make second-half adjustments on the year. Perhaps the Chiefs feel like Nelson’s health will improve and that the secondary will coalesce into something a bit more special. For now, it just feels like an opportunity missed to see Maxwell head to Seattle.